Continental joins BMW, Intel and Mobileye for self-driving cars

Continental said this week that it will be joining the self-driving technological platform developed by BMW, Intel and Mobileye.

The German auto parts and tire maker will handle integration of components and software for the platform.

The accelerating pace of development of autonomous self-driving vehicles has resulted in a growing number of alliances between automakers and suppliers such as Continental.

Continental is the world’s second-biggest supplier to carmakers by sales and they hope to play a key role in commercialising the new self-driving platform.

It is also planned for the new autonomous self-driving programmes to be sold to other auto manufacturers.

Chief Executive Elmar Degenhart said in an emailed statement.

“We can meet the steep demands in autonomous driving through an industry-wide collaboration more comprehensively, rapidly and at lower costs than by going alone,”

Last year BMW joined forces with U.S. chipmaker Intel and Mobileye, who are an Israeli vision system and mapping company. Another U.S. parts maker, Delphi Automotive, has also joined the BMW self-driving tie-up.

The self-driving platform will come into operation in 2021. Another German car manufacturer, Daimler also formed a similar alliance with supplier Robert Bosch in April in their own bid to speed develop self-driving cars.